Columbia University has agreed to pay over $220 million and overhaul several of its policies in a sweeping settlement with the Trump administration over its alleged civil rights violations.
The agreement comes after months of negotiations between the Ivy League institution and the Trump administration. According to the New York Post, under the terms, Columbia will be subject to independent monitoring to ensure compliance with merit-based admissions and hiring practices.
As part of the deal, the university will pay more than $20 million in restitution to Jewish faculty and staff who faced discrimination during anti-Israel demonstrations on campus following the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The university has also agreed to dismantle certain DEI-related programs that were found to violate the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that effectively banned race-based affirmative action. Columbia will establish new faculty roles aimed at fostering greater intellectual diversity.
Security reforms are also included in the settlement. Columbia must maintain a trained security force to prevent demonstrations in academic buildings and coordinate with law enforcement to avoid repeats of the 2024 riots, when anti-Israel protesters occupied Hamilton Hall. The university will also ban masked protests.
Admissions procedures will undergo changes as well. Columbia will increase scrutiny of foreign applicants, require prospective international students to explain their motivations for studying in the US, and share that data with federal authorities. Columbia will now be required to report disciplinary actions involving visa-holding students, including arrests, suspensions, and expulsions. The school has also pledged to reduce its reliance on international enrollment.
In exchange for these measures, the federal government will restore most of the $400 million in research grant money and more than $1.2 billion in federal funding that was previously frozen.
“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,” said Columbia acting president Claire Shipman. “The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track. Importantly, it safeguards our independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration, work that is vital to the public interest.”
